Texas death row exonoree Anthony Graves will join Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, on Monday, April 23, 2012 for a conversation about how he survived nearly two decades of wrongful incarceration.

On October 27, 2010, Anthony Graves walked out of the Burleson County Jail after spending 18 years in prison – including 12 years on death row – for a crime he did not commit. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Graves and declared him innocent after conducting their own investigation of the case.

He is the 12th person in Texas to be wrongfully convicted and removed from death row and the 140th nationwide. Since his release, Graves has spoken about his experience with the Texas death penalty system to audiences throughout the United States and around the world.

Graves will be visiting Dallas at a critical time, as concerns about the risk of wrongful conviction continue to call into question the reliability and fairness of the criminal justice system. Dallas County accounts for 102 death sentences and 47 executions in Texas since 1976, and ranks second only behind Harris County in use of the death penalty. Dallas County also now accounts for 30 exonerations based on DNA evidence.

WHEN: Monday, April 23, 2012, 6:30 to 7:30 PM

WHERE: Friendship-West Baptist Church, 2020 W. Wheatland Rd., Dallas, Texas 75232

WHO: Sponsored by Citizens of Mitzpah and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

More information about Anthony Graves is available here.

This event is free and open to the public.

Categories: Featured, Recent Posts, Religion
Tags: Anthony Graves, Death Row Exoneration, Frederick D. Haynes III, Friendship-West